Picking up the Pieces
by lonelybelovid
Summary: Eli gets some shocking news that ends up changing his world completely and now he and his older cousin have to learn to put the pieces of their lives back together. Contains character death, altered story lines, cutting, hoarding, and no lemons. Eli isn't diagnosed bipolar yet. *Also warning this will have a sequel and prequel that contains a SLASH pairing.*
1. Chapter 1

Ok so here we go...I've been putting this off and putting this off and putting this off and putting this off and... You get the Idea. Well here it is my first Degrassi Fan Fiction! This one is going have two Degrassi Characters as cousins that are not actually related in the REAL Degrassi story line and will have many sequels that follow this.

Disclaimer in 3...2..:

I would like to start by saying that I don't own Degrassi or any of its characters, if I did it would be a non stop slash fest plus JT Yorke and Campbell Saunders would still be alive.

Ok so I'm killing off two characters and its probably gonna piss a few people off. Also this is my first Degrassi Fic so please be gentle.

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Outside of Degrassi C.S.

*Open POV*

Eli and Clare were sitting at their usual table outside talking and laughing about old memories with their Families.

"Yeah My older cousin married Principal Simpson step-daughter last summer. He said they both got really drunk and got hitched at a casino at Niagara falls." Eli said shaking his head. Clare sat their in shock she had never met someone had gotten a quickie casino wedding or even a friend of someone who had so that had always seemed so televised and unreal to her.

"Its not the only crazy rash decision he has made though." He continued, "He Re-virginized himself for a girl who was a christian, I think her name was Darcy..." Clare looked at him with wide eyes.

"Whats your cousins name?" Clare asked realizing who Eli was talking about automatically.

Eli gave her a puzzled look, "Gavin... He goes by Spinner though." Clare chuckled to then was quick to reply.

"Darcy is my older sister, I remember him coming around our house when I was younger." She smiled remembering how happy Darcy was when Spin was around, "He was a really nice guy, what's his wife like?"

"She's ok she talks a lot about the environment and is really into green peace but shes still pretty cool." Eli replied. He and Emma actually got along fairly well, plus Spinner was always in this crazy like "high" when they were together and it just made him act crazier than he already is.

Eli and Spinner had always been fairly close they after Spin moved into his loft Eli spent a lot of his time hanging out w/ Spinner and Jane. Then when Jane Broke Spins heart Eli went over to try and cheer him up only to hear that he had gotten married in Niagara falls and that Spin decided he wanted to stay married to the girl.

Their wedding or commitment ceremony rather was nice it was on the beach and his parents never caught him drinking with Jay and Spinner, not that Bullfrog would have minded but Cece would've killed him. She seemed to worry about him way to much since Julia had died.

He wished that people would just let him be. Its true he missed Julia everyday but the things that happened that night probably could not be avoided. Eli was slowly learning to accept that but his mother seemed to think he was still in denial about the whole thing.

Since Julia died Eli always had a weird way of coping with death usually shutting people out and not speaking for long periods of time even cutting himself on the occasion. But eventually he always went back to his usual self, the guy with the sarcastically humorous personality and an "I don't take any shit off anyone" kind of attitude. He and Clare sat there and chatted about Darcy in Africa and About Spinner as a married man which was funny for them both to think about.

Then the Bell rang and they went to go their separate ways when Adam came rushing but to them.

"Hey Eli Principal Simpson is looking for you, he said that you and I should probably come to Clare!" Adam said a semi-confused look in his eye, "Any idea what he needs?" he looked from Eli to Clare who both looked at each other and shrugged their shoulders.

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*Open POV*

Principal Simpson was standing at the door to his office with Emma, his step-daughter looking at Eli and his two friends as they walked in the door. Eli wasn't sure what to make of it Emma looked like she had been crying and Simpson had this looked that plainly said he was at a loss for words. He waved the three students over and ushered them into his office motioning for two of them to sit in the two chairs in the office that were not filled already. Before he sat Eli noticed Spinner leaning on the wall, his eyes were damp like something had him on the brink of tears but he wouldn't let them fall.

"Whats going on?" Eli asked the question was directed at anyone who could give him an answer but he was looking at Spinner. Spin closed his eyes and sighed silently.

"Eli you might want to have a seat." Mr. Simpson said quietly, he looked from Clare to Adam than back to Eli then spoke, "Eli I don't really know how to say this... there's been an accident involving your parents..." he looked to Spin who had his Jaw clenched tight unable to open his eyes.

Mr. Simpson looked back to Eli and Clare who had a hand on Eli's shoulder, then he continued "The Medics did what they could but... I'm sorry Eli they didn't make it."

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Ok I know I'm a horrible person for cutting it off right there but hey who doesn't love a cliff hanger. Ok so let me know if you loved it, if you hated it feel free to let me know just don't be a total dick about it. Just say "I found this unpleasant or I didn't really like the plot" don't be the jerk who puts the "This was so stupid, your so stupid, I'm so stupid everything is SO stupid" nobody likes that guy and to quote sweet brown "Ain't nobody got time for that"- Sweet Brown© (IDK if she has that copyrighted but just to be safe.)


	2. Chapter 2

Ok so here's chapter two I hope you all love it. Btw there's cutting, depression, hoarding, general grief/ angst, and character death in this chapter so If you can't handle these things you shouldn't read this.

WARNING! This chapter Contains ECLARE so if you don't like that SORRY neither do I so just hold on tight and deal cause I promise to make it quick and virtually painless.

I don't own Degrassi or its characters.

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*Adams POV*

I can't believe what I'm hearing Eli's mom and dad are dead. I can't tell what he's thinking right now, he's just staring down at the floor a few tears have fallen down his face but he isn't really crying. If something happened to my parents and I had to hear about it from the principal I would be crushed to though. Clare is crying silent, she's hugging Eli now he's holding onto her but still not reacting just sitting there quietly holding her.

His cousins, Emma and Spinner are both standing on the side of the room watching and trying not to cry.

Clare walked over now she's leaning on my shoulder still crying. Spinner has a hand on Eli's arm they're looking each other in the arm. I wrapped an arm around Clare trying to comfort her. Then Principal Simpson started to speak looking at Clare and I.

"Adam, Clare you both should probably head back to class now I'll write you both passes." then he looked over at Emma then to Spinner and led us out of his office. As he wrote up are passes to Ms. Dawes' class I hugged Clare while she tried to get her crying under control. We walked back to class silently just taking in everything. When we got to class Ms. Dawes gave us a sympathetic smile.

We both went about the rest of our days in silence waiting to hear from Eli. Chances were that he wasn't going to text anyone back though so we both just dropped it.

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*Spinner's POV*

I nearly broke down when mom called me about to tell me that my aunt and uncle had been in a car accident. Cece and my dad were very close growing up, when Kendra and I lost him we looked to our aunt a lot to keep his memory alive. Knowing that she was gone was almost to much to handle. Then she mentioned Eli, the poor kid lost both his parents and he didn't even get a chance to say goodbye. Mom told me that Eli would probably live with her since she was his next of kin.

Telling Emma what had happened was just as hard as hearing it the first time. She and Cece had got along like old friends since I introduced them to each other at the wedding. We sat and held each other for what felt like forever, she cried quietly on my shoulder.

"What's going to happen to Eli, will he stay with your mom or does he have any other relatives that you know of?" Emma asked making a futile attempt to dry her eyes. Then a thought hit me like a ton of bricks.

I half smiled at her, "He has us Em... I know we haven't been married for a very long time, but he'd only be living with us for a few years till university... would you mind it if he moved in with us?" I replied, living with my mom would drive Eli crazy, then again it would probably do the same to her.

Emma smiled and nodded, "That would be great there's just one problem" she said and flourished her hand behind her. I got what she meant instantly, We need to move.

We drove to Degrassi in silence, both of us knowing that we were about to tell my younger cousin that his life had been ruined and that there was nothing anyone could do to change it. Emma walked through the doors and into her dads office while I just stood back and looked around. I saw Eli sitting with a friend talking and laughing not even knowing that his life was about to take a drastic change.

"I should probably let him be for now..." I thought to myself, walking up to the doors. When I got inside Emma and Snake waved me over to his office and told me I should probably wait for them inside.

"I'm going to asked Eli's friends Adam and Clare come with him, so that he has other loved one's here for support you both know that he isn't always predictable with his emotions." Snake told us, he was right I had no idea how Eli was going to take this information. I remember when his Ex Julia died, He completely shut down, he wouldn't talk or eat and he didn't act sad or angry he just tuned everyone and everything out. It took Bullfrog, Cece and I two weeks to get him to say anything. When he finally did say something he and I were sitting in his room and he just randomly said that it was his fault and that he had killed her. Then he started clawing at his arms. When I got him to stop I felt blood on his arms where he had been scratching. He had been cutting himself and had reopened the cuts. I know he still blames himself for what happened to her, and until recently had a small hoarding problem. Cece told me that his girlfriend was helping him learn to let go. I was proud of him, but surprised that he never told me about a girlfriend.

As I walked into the office I heard Snake call Eli's friend Adam over. He told him that he needed to see Eli and that he and Clare should join them. Emma came in a moment later and came over to stand beside me, I leaned back against the wall and crossed my arms. When Eli walked in I wasn't sure what to do or say.

"Whats going on?" Eli asked looking at me, all I could do was sigh as I felt my eyes slip shut, what are you suppose to tell a sixteen year old kid when their parents die? I heard Snake tell Eli to sit down. As he said that my aunt and uncle had been in an accident I clenched my jaw trying to stop any tears from falling. I can't open my eyes I know I'll end up crying if I do. I open my eyes, walk over to Eli and lay my hand on his shoulder. He's keeps a steady gaze on the ground. Snake, Adam, and the girl Clare, who I'm assuming is Eli's girlfriend walk out of the room and Emma comes to join us in the center of the office.

"Kid, until we get everything straightened out your gonna stay with me and Em... but we can't talk about that later for now we should probably just go home." I said looking over at Eli then up to Emma who looks like she has no clue what to do or say.

"Alright..." Eli whispered looking at the ground. I stood to go sign him out of school and Em took my place beside him. She went to hold him and he buried his head in her shoulder. I can't even begin to imagine what he's thinking.

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Holy Shit that was wordy, and BTW I'm sorry that I suck at writing angst and sadness. Oh well whats done is done and I have little to no regrets for it. I'm changing the description of this story a tad bit in reference to a FUTURE SEQUEL and/or PREQUEL but not to this current story so the sequel and/or prequel won't have to be read but if you believe you might enjoy them you should do so when possible.

Please Read, Review, Mark it to your Favorites and also be sure to check out my poll on my profile.

Happy trails my lovelies, until we meet again!


	3. Chapter 3

Ok so as a front note thank you for suggesting I bring Sean into the picture, you guys must have read my mind. Now:

Blah BlahBlahBlahBlahBlahBlah don't own degrassi BlahBlahBlahBlahBlahBlahBlahBlah just borrowing it BlahBlahBlahBlahBlahBlahBlahBlahBlah BlahBlahBlahBlahBlah BlahBlah!

Thank you now enjoy!

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Two months Later

*Open POV*

In the two months that passed a lot of changes had happened very fast, Emma and Spinner bought their first real house together that was conveniently located within walking distance of Clare's house and Eli moved in with them. After some complicated talk with lawyers, Mrs. Mason willing gave up custody of Eli so that Spinner could become his legal guardian. Eli didn't really go back to his old self but he did start opening up to people again and had managed to keep his cutting under control. Spin had insisted he start seeing a therapist, Eli hated this but dealt with it since he new that it would make Spinner and Emma worry less about him. Eli and Emma grew rather close in the short time they had been living together. They would tease and joke around with each other like they had been friends for years.

On this particular evening Spinner brought up Clare in the middle of their usual small talk while he and Emma were making dinner.

"So Eli how come you never mentioned your girlfriend to us before?" Spin asked as he tried to figure out how to get a box of pasta open without destroying it. Eli rolled his eye's as he momentarily looked up from the issue of the goon that he was reading. Emma stuck her head out from behind the cabinet she was digging through.

"Really you have a girlfriend and you've never told us, so details whats her name? Whats she like?" Emma said walking across the kitchen and out of Eli's line of sight.

"Her name is Clare..." He replied, Then Emma and Spin stuck there heads into view waiting for more details, "And she's just wonderful" he added sarcastically with a chuckle. Eli thought for a moment then looked at Spinner remembering something Clare had told him. "You dated her sister for a while" he said looking back at the comic book laying in front of him.

"Wait her last name is Edwards right? Yeah I remember Clare!" Spinner said thinking back to the days he spent dating Darcy and Seeing Clare when he dropped her off at her house. Emma looked at him curiously, "Darcy's little sister." he added smiling as he continued his reminiscing.

Emma rolled her eye's and shoved his shoulder playfully then went back to her ministrations. "You should invite her over for dinner Eli, I would love to meet her." Emma said. Eli said he would walk over and see if she would like to come for dinner then got up and left leaving the Spinner and Emma to continue their usual conversations till dinner time.

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*Eli's POV*

Its been a few days since I've seen Clare, apparently her family had house guests so I figured I would let her spend time with her guests. When I got to the door and knocked I was greeted by Clare's mom who I hadn't seen in a few months. When she opened the door she announced my presence then hugged me saying how sorry she was to her about my parents and that if I needed anything I should just ask. Then she led me into the living room where Clare and her dad where sitting with to my surprise, Darcy and a man in fatigues. Clare walked over, we hugged and she gave me a quick peck on the cheek.

"Eli this is my older sister Darcy and her Fiancé Sean, Guys this is Eli" Clare said gesturing to me then them in introduction. Before I knew what was happening Darcy had pulled me into a tight embrace.

"It's so nice to finally meet you Clare has told me so much about you! I'm so sorry about your mom and dad! If you need to talk or anything just let me know!" Darcy said as she let go. I smiled then thanked her and shook Sean's hand. Then I turned to Clare to Invited her over but thought of a better idea. Gesturing to the kitchen with my eye's Clare took my hand and we walked out of ear shot of Darcy and the rest of the family.

"I think I know what you're thinking, we should take her and Sean to see Spinner!" she said smiling. I nodded and told her that she had been invited by Spinner and Emma to come have dinner with us. She said she would love to then went to tell Darcy that we had someone that she needed to visit while she was back home.

When we got back to my place I announced that I had a few people with me. Then I turned to Darcy, "You remember Spinner Mason right?" I asked her.

"Yeah..." She and Sean said at the same time. "I used to be friends with Spinner years ago!" Sean added.

"Well he's my older cousin that I've been living with." I said looking into the kitchen. Noticing Spin walking this way. "Hey Spin, look whose back in town." I said as Clare and I went to sit on the couch.

Darcy Squealed and bear hugged him, he laughed loudly when he realised what was happening then he looked at Sean with confusion evident in his eye's, "Sean Cameron?" he and Sean bro-hugged.

"Sean and I met when his platoon came through Kenya on a tour. And well now were engaged." Darcy said holding up her hand to show him her ring. Spinner smiled and congratulated them. Then Showed them both his wedding ring.

"I got hitched while you were both gone too!" He said with a laugh. Darcy's eye's sparkled and Sean said his congrats asking who he married. Clare and I both Exchanged confused glances when he rubbed the back of his neck. "That's the thing..." he started just as Emma came walking through the kitchen door.

"Sean?!" she said with a gasp.

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Okay that so would be me, ending on another cliff hanger! lol but seriously I hope you all enjoyed that one! I said I would write Sean in and as a added bonus we also get Darcy! Please Read and Review and Another chapter is soon to come! Love you all!


	4. Chapter 4

Hello hello hello! Cliffhanger time has officially expired. So looks like its time to see whats going on in Spinner, Emma, and Eli's lives!

Just a reminder I DO NOT OWN DEGRASSI never have probably never will.

*Emma's POV*

As I walk out of the kitchen to see who Spin and Eli are talking to go into complete shock. Sean Cameron and Darcy Edwards are both standing in my living room. Spinner is just sitting there looking from me to Darcy to Sean then back to me, Eli and his girlfriend are sitting on the couch looking confused, and Darcy and Sean are standing there holding hands.

"Emma, you and Spinner Mason? Really?" Sean said looking at me shocked. Eli raises an eyebrow and I chuckle a little. "Its a long story" I tell him and offer that the three of them stay for dinner so we can tell the two kids.

They sat down for dinner talking and reliving old times at Degrassi. Then went their separate ways for the night. As Spinner lay in bed after thinking back to all the memories that he had lived with his three former school mates. He thought about life, regrets, and moments he could have spent healing from hardships and mistakes. Then he knew what he had to do.

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*Open POV*

Now that two months had elapsed since Cece and Bullfrogs deaths Spinner felt it was time to ask Eli if he wanted to go see their shared headstone. Emma wasn't sure it was a good idea since Eli's emotions were a little up in the air since the funeral but she decided to let him do what he thought was best. Eli agreed with slight hesitation. He knew he wanted to visit his parents final resting place but he wasn't sure how things would be afterwords.

The three of them drove to the cemetery in silence then slowly approached the grave stone. As they stood there together Eli realized that he wasn't going to be doing this alone and that He had Spinner and Emma both to help him put things back together if it felt like they were falling apart.

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Okey Dokey that was really short! Sorry :( but I'm going to make a few sequels so don't be afraid. My X-Men and YuGiOh stories are going on an Indefinite hiatus so I can do some Degrassi stuff. Sequels to this, Some Slash stuff, ETC...

Till then mien Freunds! Auf Wiedersehen!

- LB


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